


Fears Overlooked and Misplaced

by PetraLynn



Series: Fears Overlooked and Misplaced [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Time Travel, Time Turner, Tom just wants to be a good boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-07 12:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14670798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetraLynn/pseuds/PetraLynn
Summary: Time travel/faulty time turner Tom notices Hermione acting strangely tries to brush it off and fails, he discovers some secrets.  Hermione remembers that despite his charms her boyfriend is Voldemort, and starts to fear his retribution when he finds out her secrets.  Healing happens hopefully.





	1. Tom Notices Strange Occurrences

**_Tom_ ** _admits_ he should have noticed  the signs sooner, her changes in behavior being as drastic as they are. It made him angry, he was above such oversights.

Did she not realize that she was above reproach, that she was safe from his wrath, that he valued her above all things?

He started to dismiss her actions, tried to talk himself out of his train of thought, after all Hermione knew how he treated others, people of less value to him than her.

He realized such hopes were folly when he arrived late to the start of dinner. He had arrived in time to overhear Hermione make study plans with Malfoy, they’d been partnered in potions so it would be wise for them to revise their essays together. Tom’s heart fell slightly as the plans had been scheduled for this weekend, a hogsmeade weekend. He had wanted to have Hermione accompany him, he had made plans to take her to tea at Puddifoot's, get her a book.

Malfoy said something that was likely a poorly told joke. They were laughing, smiling. Hermione was smiling, and happy. Tom had forgotten what she looked like when she was truely smiling, he’d overlooked her half smiles that she’d been plastering on. Tom devised a plan, because surely Hermione isn’t scared of him.

If it had just been her newly cleared out schedule, her readiness for all his plans made at the last minute, he would have called it young love, Tom would have loved that. If it was just her plastered on smile, she would have just grown broad and was trying to tell him without upsetting his feelings, that was a slightly upsetting reality. If she was just flinching away from his touch, then she heard a rumor or walked in on a meeting at an inopportune moment, or maybe one of the knights had spilled the truth. But all three occurred like a perfect storm, soo to ensure to himself he wasn’t fabricating the entire situation, Tom would have liked to been fabricating the entire situation. Now that he was acutely aware of her actions a test could be conducted.

“Hermione, would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?” He waited for the rejection, for her to say sorry Tom but Malfoy and I are looking over each other’s potions essays so maybe next time, followed by an apologetic smile.

If someone had told Tom he’d be disappointed by someone accepting his proposal to hogsmeade he would have thought such an idea porposturus. Needless to say Tom was not pleased with Hermione’s response.

Rushed, clipped, and apathetic came her answer “Yes,” she averted her eyes, “I’d love to,” she started playing with the food on her plate, “thanks Tom.” The situation had to be rectified.

“Lovely.” He wanted Malfoy to interject, to say Hermione we have plans, to give him opportunity to show her she shouldn’t drop everything for him.

Dinner dragged on until Malfoy started an inane discussion about quidditch. Tom started to formulate a plan.   

He walked with Hermione back to their dorms. When he goes to hold her hand and the momentary reluctance is evident despite how short lived it might have been. He briefly thought of kissing her check goodnight before he reminded himself of all the times her breath hitched in what was likely fear and not anticipation. He wished her a goodnight, held himself back from brushing  back a stray hair. He noticed the way she let out a sigh of relief and it nearly killed him.

He walked into the boy’s dorm Nott, Lestrange, and Malfoy had already started to settle in for the evening, he had Nott and Lestrange vacate the room, Malfoy’s console had proven itself useful in the past, on multiple occasions.

“My lord I apologize for all I have done to displease you.” Malfoy had a knack for appeasing Tom.

“It concerns Hermione,” Malfoy started to develop what was likely an explanation of how they were just friends, how he would never do anything improper with his lord’s lady, “next time you two make study plans and I interrupt them remind her of them whilst I try.”

Confusion and worry spread across Malfoy’s face, remembering the threat Riddle had made when she arrived the year prior.   

“My lord I apologize if my presumptiveness at dinner…”

“Hermione has grown to fear me Abraxas, I seek your counsel.” Abraxas’ confusion only grew.

“My lord,”

“Tom”

“Tom, has she done something to warrant a change in the manner she is handled?” Tom understood the worried tone Abraxas had adopted, they had become good friends and the threats open his knight’s lives he had made to ensure her protection was not the primary influence in his concern towards her safety.

“No, as far a you should be concerned she is still your lady.”

“So it is not your intention for her to fear you?”

“Of course not!” Tom’s interjection set the tone for the rest of the conversation, Abraxas acting towards him in ways resembling his early years at Hogwarts. Abraxas started to pitch possible explanations , ranging from she’s really just nervous, to a jealous fangirl made her nervous. Of course they couldn’t be farther from the truth.


	2. Hermione's Misplaced Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione confronts her fears, and reveals secrets.

**_Hermione_ ** _never_ forgot who Tom was, will be, but as she settled in to her new reality it became easier for her to just live in the moment. So she ended up with a boyfriend, a charming, handsome, slightly murderous boyfriend. She hid her scars and pushed aside his.

Then she saw Myrtle's ghost, and the truth was too obvious for her to ignore.

Then it was impossible for her to not be disgusted, she made attempts at hiding this by studying in groups without Riddle. Planning away all her time. The plan worked until she overheard Abraxas worrying about Riddle’s propensity towards rage at their club meetings, and saw the black eye he had. Overwhelmed by guilt she loosened her schedule, stared saying yes more often.   

Then one day Riddle kissed her, she’d been so shocked she ran back into the library. The next day Avery got a “quidditch injury” and was in the medical wing for a week recovering. Fear became her motivating force, she was scared what Riddle might do to the student body if she continued  to rebuff his advances, what he might do to her.

Hermione had been scared when her time turner brought her to this time, she passed her fear off as jitters. She was as scared now as she was then but also grateful, grateful for her luck. That everyone _assumed_ she was a pureblood form the continent fleeing the war. That Riddle hadn’t found reason or want to use leginamancy.

Hermione’s fear led her to say yes to Riddle when he proposed dates that would conflict with her study schedule. Abraxas became the only other member of the student body she spent any substantial amount of time with, he never brought up how Riddle’s plans interpreted thiers, he could sense her fear of the fallout that might occur if he did. She sacrificed her major lead in class work to placate him, in hope he would be less violent. She hoped that when she fell behind he wouldn’t notice. She hoped he wouldn’t notice anything.

She began to fear what would happen if he noticed the changes she did. Hermione noticed how her behavior changed around Riddle. She found herself forcing smiles for all the flowers and other displays of his material displays of affection. She noticed herself tensing at his touch and having to relax into it. It took weeks for her to not have a melt down in her bed after he kissed her goodnight.

Hermione didn’t think she’d gotten made when Riddle asked her to Hogsmeade. She did not question why he did not kiss her after he walked her back that night, but was glad that he didn’t. Since Hermione didn’t think she’d got made, she did not prepare for an inquisition.

She always thought Riddle would find reason or desire to question her, she just never thought he would do it gently. She had expected a trip out into the forest where no one would hear her scream, not such a public location. She expected an inquisition to start with a crucio not the offering of early gray tea. She had expected demands to be made not an apology to be given.

“Hermione, I have done something to upset you. To cause you discomfort, I wish to rectify this.”

Hermione was so taken aback in shock she almost dropped her teacup.

“Tom I don’t know where this is coming from, you’ve...” Hermione struggled to keep her tone level, to not let her fear or the lie she was telling be known. In such regard she failed miserably.

“Hermione dear, you are quite literally shaking and there is a quiver in your voice, so I will stop you before you try to placate me by sounding less intelligent than you are. I would like to ensure that whatever role I’ve played to cause your discomfort to not be the end in our relationship but a stumble. I wish to not be a cause of stress in your life any longer. So please tell me what I need to do to resolve this problem.” Hermione never thought she’d see the day when Tom Riddle begged for anything. The day when his face would be filled with such compassion. It is due to such disjointed series of events that Hermione didn’t think to lie. She did not try to shield herself from the fallout that might happen when she got back to hogwarts.

“You want me dead.” Tom’s face shifted from compasionite to to barely held back rage, his eyes gave a direct order finish your thought before I murder something. “I’m a mudblood.”

Silence fell between the two, one might have been able to hear a pin drop. Hermione waited for a near eternity for Riddle’s reaction.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the outpour of kudos it means soo much. I had thought this would just be two chapters but I think a third might be in order.
> 
> P.S. I can't really write dialogue but I can have two characters monologue at each other for an eternity LOL.  
> P.P.S. I had this Line that I love but had to cut: Hermione might just be the luckiest girl to ever have the misfortune of falling backwards through time.  
> P.P.P.S. I'm PetraLynnLuna on tumblr if you're looking for people to follow.


	3. Tom Poses Questions and Ponders Specific Wording

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom and Hermione enjoy tea and a lovely picnic by the lake

**_Tom_ ** _never_ would have thought he’d be made calm by such a declaration. He’d been close to murdering whoever got the idea in her head, he might still.

He’d been worried that all hope had been lost. He could handle this, this was a gap he would mend.

“Please, be quick.” Her words broke his heart. He didn’t like the sound of Hermione begging for a merciful death.

She’d gone back to staring at her teacup, and swirling her spoon around. He wanted her to look at him. He wanted his pressenance to calm her.

“I apologize for my silence you’ve given me much to ponder” he’d intended the words to be calming but her face was more terror filled the before. “Darling, please enjoy your tea.” Her face settled into confusion, good he could work with confusion. Cuffusion didn’t ask him for a merciful death.

He had a plan forming and then he realized one very large gap in his logic. Hermione might not want anything to do with him.

“Do you wish to continue this relationship.” He allowed his mind to wonder in such a possibility, he wanted her to be happy that much he was sure of. If necessary he’d find her a suitable match for someone of her intellect. He didn’t notice he’d scared her her until she spoke.

“I’m fine… this is fine… um… if you want to break this off I’d understand.” She started shaking again. He was right make where he stared, almost.

“I think our conversation would be easily carried on in a more remote location.”

They made their way back with little chatter in between. Hermione looked like she was being led to her death. Tom paused them at the lake, and conjured a blanket.

“Darling sit, we have much to discuss” Hermione tensed up again and sat down on the blanket. “You don’t need to tense, I won’t hurt you, I have no desire to hurt you.”

She relaxed albeit slightly. ‘What needs discussion?” Her voice came out meek yet demanding.

“Do you wish to continue our relationship?” Tom hoped she’d give an answer unhindered by fear.

“If you’d find…”

“No!” Tom’s magic radiated around him mixing with his anger, “I need you to just answer me honestly, I can not have you continue to wallow away from me when you’d be happier away.” His word were a plea.

“I don’t want to get hurt. That’s all I can reason at the moment.” Tom let out a sigh of relief and exacerbation. Honest words, a nimble dance around the issues but truthful, truthful was the start of something.

“I enjoy your company, I truly do and I, would like to see where this goes. But if it were to fail, I’m worried you’d find reason to retaliate. Or to perhaps manipulate a situation where in I’d be trapped by your side all the same.” Hermione had gotten her fire back, Tom felt like he was over the moon hearing her talk in such an inflamed and impassioned manner. “I see how you treat others close to you who you hold in low esteem, I’m not an idiot.” Tom made move to speak but was cut off. “You would, you claim you wouldn’t but you would. You will try to ease my fears and claim there's nothing I could say or do to inquire your wrath on such a level but, Tom I’m not an idiot. You have a short fuse and it will go out on me if I stick around.”  

The suggestion Tom made in response was fueled by emotion. It was on of the few displays of hyper emotion he would never regret.

“What if I made an unbreakable vow? Would that be enough to put your mind at ease?” Tom was begging the universe Hermione would agree. He nearly lost all sense of limited control when she nodded for him to continue. “I’d vow to never directly cause lasting or severe physical damage to you or your offspring, to never directly kill you or your offspring, to never hold you hostage in our relationship, and you would vow to never break off our relationship as long as your romantic feelings towards me were not eclipsed by another.”

“I agree to that as a general outline but seeing as how the consequences for breaking such a pack are soo dire I’d want to have the langye fine tuned a little more. And I would want Abraxas to be the binder.”

“Very well, understandable. Hermione, darling may I walk you back to the castle?”

Her nod in approval made Tom be the happiest dark lord on the cusp of world domination. Tom stated revisiting the language on their way back, as they walked together without words muttered in between.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I had a lot of fun writing this, I did so at 11-1 across the span of a few days, I had plans for the next and final chapter to be out by tomione day the 29th of May. Kudos and comments are always loved and appreciated My tumbler is petralynnluna for those of you who want to experience the writing process.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, comments are appreciated.


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